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The National
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Local heroes bringing hospital radio to Ayrshire for over 70 years
Ayr Hospital Radio (AHR) began broadcasting in 1953 and has provided more than seven decades of songs and chat of all styles for its listeners – and like many others, is serving up important entertainment and opportunities to this day. Plus, as another jingle adds, you'll find something to enjoy 'even if you're not in hospital'. From the home of Ayr United Football Club, Somerset Park, volunteer-led live matchday commentaries have been relayed to the local hospital hubs in South Ayrshire alongside scheduled shows of music ranging from soul, latest hits and classic favourites. READ MORE: Labour have 'given up' on by-election amid SNP-Reform contest, says John Swinney AHR chair John O'Donnell says that the running of this radio station is 'tailored to the needs of their listeners'. 'This service helps alleviate loneliness and anxiety, creating a sense of connection for patients who may feel isolated from the outside world,' he explains. For Niall Anderson, chair of the Hospital Broadcasting Service in Glasgow, hospital radio is a 'great training ground for future broadcasters' with household names such as George Bowie and Ken Bruce first heard here. 'I've been involved in hospital radio since the 1970s,' he says. 'The reason I've stayed is that I quickly saw the positive impact it had not only on listeners but also on those volunteering to deliver service. 'Originally hospital radio could only be heard using a headset installed at the bedside. These days we stream on the internet and not only does this mean higher sound quality, but it also allows real interaction between patients and their loved ones. 'For hospital radio to remain relevant, it needs to keep pace with the times and offer what people would expect from any radio station including features such as Listen Again – giving the chance to hear a show at a time that suits them.' Live football commentary is a key part of the puzzle. AHR has included visually impaired supporters at the Honest Men's home fixtures. O'Donnell believes this item offers a 'sense of normality and escapism.' (Image: Durham Hospital Radio) An 'inaugural match' against Dundee United in November 1953, according to club historian Duncan Carmichael, started this journey. An upgrade followed, with the opening of a studio in 1959 tucked away in the stadium's southwest corner hiding an interior that feels like you've stepped into a time capsule. One man's vital contribution in constructing this unit, and whose presence preserves the origins of the commentary relays, is that of former army and telecoms worker Willie Shields. At the age of 96, his services providing vivid and professional commentary in the role, as an Ayr supporter, means he still 'feels like a young boy'. He can still recall how he got himself up to this historic studio that is nearing its 66th anniversary. 'The room you're sitting in, I did all the electrical work and a fair bit of the woodwork for it, we built this ourselves,' he says. 'Being a commentator made you more interested in the club, and you were doing something for them. They didn't pay us at all, we were doing it for free, but we had to get the money in to go on air every time.' HBSA Radio's offering chimes with Shields's assessment. Based in Crosshouse since the mid-1970s, the second Ayrshire hospital broadcast service has provided audio descriptive commentary from rivals Kilmarnock Football Club from their home fixtures at Rugby Park since 2018. Station manager Mark Fisher believes that offering the commentary throughout the seven years has 'raised the profile'. He says: 'This has been great for listeners and has provided some amazing opportunities for our local volunteers to get into this very niche activity. The club is a huge part of local life, so it is great to be associated with them. 'The programmes are all presented by local people and we never air syndicated shows from elsewhere. Hospital radio is a valuable resource run by people from the community and hopefully that community benefits from it.' Community, engagement and uplifting others are the outstanding sentiments from the long-running radio broadcast systems throughout Scotland operating on a stalwart, voluntary-led basis. As AHR chair O'Donnell adds: 'Whether it is music, requests, football, cricket, or other major sporting occasions, the volunteers who run these stations bring dedication and enthusiasm ensuring that the content is relevant to those in care.'
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Europe to hand billions in frozen Russian cash to Western investors, sources say
By John O'Donnell BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Euroclear plans to seize and redistribute about 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) of Russia's funds that are frozen at the Belgian clearing firm after Moscow grabbed investor cash in Russia, according to documents seen by Reuters and people familiar with the matter. The money will be used to compensate Western investors after Moscow seized cash held in Russia in recent months, three people said, escalating attempts by both sides to recoup billions in funds affected by the war in Ukraine. Euroclear will redistribute 3 billion from a pool of 10 billion euros in cash belonging to Russian entities and individuals hit by European Union sanctions following Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, two of the people said. The move, reported in detail here for the first time, marks a new level of reprisal by Europe. The European Union changed its sanctions regime late last year, allowing a disbursement to Western investors in such circumstances. In the past, the West has engineered loans and payments to Ukraine from the interest on frozen Russian assets, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced as theft. The planned Belgian payout was triggered by Russian government orders to confiscate billions from Western investors last year. Euroclear has been under pressure from international investors to release money. Reuters could not determine which of them would benefit from payout. Euroclear in March gained clearance from Belgium, its principal legal authority, to make the payout, according to the people who spoke to Reuters. Euroclear has notified clients of the upcoming payments in an April 1 briefing document, reviewed by Reuters. "We received authorisation from our competent authority, to unfreeze the compensation amounts and make these available to our participants," the document said. Reuters could not establish the identity of the Russian owners whose assets will be seized. Belgium's government declined to comment, while Russia's finance ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Euroclear has emphasised that it implements sanctions but the company does not take decisions about the shape of sanctions or their lifting. The payments to Western investors won't dip into the more than 200 billion euros of Russian central bank reserves that have been frozen in the EU, the two people said. It will, however, reduce the stockpile of Russian wealth, that includes cash, shares and bonds, held almost entirely at Euroclear that gave the bloc leverage over Moscow. Some hoped frozen Russian assets could be used to rebuild Ukraine. Western investors have tens of billions of assets stranded in Russia from seized factories to cash. Europe's decision to release frozen Russian wealth in Europe to investors is viewed critically by some. "To seize Russian assets and give them to Western investors would be morally reprehensible," said Jacob Kirkegaard, a sanctions expert with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington-based think tank. "It would represent a political decision to prioritise Western businesses over the taxpayer. Any frozen assets that don't go to Ukraine's reconstruction will ... have to be covered by tax payers." BLOCKED The European Union froze hundreds of billions of Russian assets - including the central bank reserves - following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, in an unprecedented move that amounted to its single biggest penalty to Russia. Euroclear holds the lion's share of sanctioned Russian wealth in Europe - more than 180 billion euros. Getting that money back is important for Moscow and has prompted roughly 100 court actions against Euroclear, one of the people said. Reuters could not determine the status of those court cases. Moscow has warned last year that it would retaliate if its frozen assets were seized and used for Ukraine and made a change in the law earlier this year, allowing it to do so. In past months, Moscow has seized 3 billion euros of cash held by Euroclear at a depository in Russia to compensate Russian investors hit by Western sanctions, two of the people said. Clearstream, an arm of the German stock exchange that like Euroclear warehouses securities such as stocks and bonds for traders, also found itself in a similar situation. The Luxembourg-based firm will also make similar payouts from frozen Russian cash to Western investors but on a smaller scale, one person familiar with the matter said. The sum concerned is several hundred million euros, the person said. Clearstream declined to comment. Two people familiar with the case said it amounted to a swap of Western money frozen in Russia with Russian cash blocked in Europe, initiated by Moscow. Moscow's efforts to unlock its frozen assets come as its economy labours under a fourth year of international sanctions imposed because of the war. Russia continues to bomb Ukraine amid talks between Washington and Moscow to end the war, which have left Europe on the sidelines. ($1 = 0.8834 euros) (Additional reporting by Reuters in Moscow, Alex Marrow in London and Julia Payne in Brussels; editing by Elisa Martinuzzi and Daniel Flynn) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Removed Confederate monuments in Maryland to remain hidden, despite Trump executive order
BALTIMORE — The statue of Captain John O'Donnell, an 18th century merchant who enslaved dozens of Black people on his Maryland plantation, won't be returning to its former perch in Baltimore's Canton Square, despite an executive order last month from President Donald Trump. Neither will the four Confederate monuments removed from their pedestals in the dead of night in 2017 and later shipped to California to become part of a museum exhibit. Nor will the plaque formerly attached to a wall in the capitol rotunda honoring combatants on both sides of the Civil War. 'Whether or not the plaque qualifies under the president's executive order, it will not be returning to the State House,' Carter Elliott, senior press spokesperson for Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, wrote in a one-sentence email to The Baltimore Sun. Trump issued an executive order titled 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History' on March 27 requiring the reinstallation of many Confederate monuments that were removed following the nationwide protests sparked by the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minnesota while in police custody. Trump's directive has raised questions about the fate of more than a dozen statues, plaques and grave markers spread throughout Maryland that honored people once perceived as heroes but now viewed by many as oppressors. But the executive order is limited only to monuments taken down after Jan. 1, 2020, and only to those under the control of the federal government. A Sun reporter inquired about the status of 13 monuments previously located in the Free State; a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of the Interior confirmed that all were removed from state, municipal or private property. The statues and grave markers 'are not NPS [National Park Service] or federally-managed lands,' J. Elizabeth Peace, a senior public affairs specialist for the department, wrote in an email. The first four monuments were taken down by former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh on June 16, 2017 — or 30 months before the start date specified by Trump's order — after a 'Unite the Right' rally in Virginia turned violent, causing the deaths of three people and injuring dozens. For the next six years, the monuments were held in an unsecured lot managed by the city Department of Transportation, where they were vandalized, according to an investigation conducted by the city's Office of the Inspector General. A police report was not filed until six months after the damage was discovered, and the city did not pursue an insurance claim to recoup the loss. The statues were later shipped to Los Angeles, where they are expected to be part of an exhibit opening in October in that city's Museum of Contemporary Art. A second wave of monument removals in Maryland took place in 2020 and 2021 in the wake of nationwide protests that erupted after a white police officer knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, killing him. They include: •A Confederate soldiers monument that stood in front of the Red Brick Courthouse in Rockville was defaced and knocked down June 16, 2020. It was later relocated to White's Ferry near the Virginia border, where it was vandalized again. The family owning the statue has since placed it into storage. •A Confederate soldier grave marker in front of Grace Episcopal Church in Silver Spring honored the remains of 17 unidentified Confederate soldiers. It was pulled down by protesters on June 17, 2020. •The remnants of a Confederate soldier statue was toppled and beheaded in Frederick's Mt. Olivet Cemetery. The damage was discovered on June 29, 2020. •The statue of Private Benjamin Welch Owens was knocked down outside Lothian's Mt. Calvary Anglican Church and spray-painted red. Owens had served in a Confederate Maryland military unit during the Civil War; the vandalism was found on July 3, 2020. •The statue of Christopher Columbus in Baltimore's Little Italy neighborhood was tipped over by protesters on July 3, 2020, then dumped into the Inner Harbor. •O'Donnell's monument was taken down from its plinth in O'Donnell Square on April 5, 2021, by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott in response to a petition seeking the statue's removal that collected about 1,000 signatures. •A plaque memorializing Confederate Gen. John Winder stood outside the Wicomico County Courthouse on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It was removed by county officials June 12, 2021. •The plaque in the Maryland State House was removed on June 15, 2021, following a nearly yearlong effort by House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones. The plaque depicted the American and Confederate flags, and its inscription said the Maryland Civil War Centennial Commission 'did not attempt to decide who was right and who was wrong' in the conflict. •The 'Talbot Boys Statue' commemorating Talbot County residents who fought on the Confederate side during the Civil War was dislodged from its base outside the Easton County Courthouse on June 15, 2021, by county officials. They arranged for the statue to be relocated to a historic battlefield in Virginia. But not every Confederate monument in Maryland has been destroyed, relocated outside state borders or hidden away from public view. At least one memorial remains in Maryland, and it is on federal lands — the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee on horseback that looms over the Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg. But it's unlikely to be moving anytime soon. A bill to remove the Lee monument was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 28, 2024 by U.S. Rep. David Trone, a Democrat from Maryland, but failed to make it out of committee. -------------
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Analysis-Berlin debt splurge turns screws on flagging German property
By John O'Donnell and Tom Sims FRANKFURT/BERLIN (Reuters) - Berlin's borrow-to-spend splurge is driving up borrowing costs, further choking embattled property companies seeking fresh loans and threatening to compound the country's wider economic woes. A property crisis in Germany, Europe's industrial engine, has seen worried investors pull billions of euros out of the critical sector, amid scores of company bankruptcies. After rocketing over the past decade, property prices are now in a downward spiral, with experts predicting there will be worse ahead. Tumbling demand for offices, many still vacant after the pandemic, and a continued slide in home values are compounding Germany's problems, as it grapples with one of its biggest post-war economic slumps. Earlier this week, the country's lawmakers agreed to go on a 500 billion euro ($545.45 billion) borrowing spree, ditching self-imposed debt restraint, to renew the country's sagging infrastructure. Perversely for German companies, intended to benefit from this boost, it means higher borrowing costs. The yields for benchmark 10-year government bonds, which determine the cost of credit, rose more than a quarter percentage point after the recent spending plans. "The clouds have darkened," said Sven Carstensen, a manager at Berlin-based consultancy Bulwiengesa, warning that the recent rise in borrowing costs put a question mark over the belief that home prices were over the worst. He said deals for commercial property, such as offices, were already "very muted because prices are too high" and would likely remain so this year. On Wednesday, the chief executive of Germany's biggest property owner, Vonovia, also sounded a cautious note. Announcing its third year of losses, taking the tally to more than 8 billion euros, Rolf Buch cautioned that his plans to return to growth may be upended by the Berlin spending, meaning it may have to postpone some building projects. "Higher interest rates are not good for real estate values because they make refinancing more expensive," Buch told journalists. Furthermore, it is unclear whether any of the money will trickle down to the property sector given more pressing demands, such as the ailing rail network. Germany's fragmented system of government, riven by rivalry and where local politicians hold much sway, could also delay money reaching property firms. Florian Schwalm, a managing partner at EY for real estate, said that however the spending plans are sliced and diced, the impact on revitalizing real estate will be muted. Against this backdrop, a continued trickle of bad news is casting a shadow over Germany. In January, investors withdrew 500 million euros from German property funds, continuing the worst spate of outflows since the global financial crisis and following turbulent months, where roughly 7 billion euros was taken out by investors, according to an analysis by Barkow Consulting. "The stream of bad news last year means that there is no end in sight," said Peter Barkow. "We'll see another rush to withdraw from such funds in the middle of this year." The German economy is meanwhile struggling. One in five of the 202 insolvencies of big German companies last year are property firms, according to an analysis by consultancy Falkensteg. Germany's 730 billion euro property industry is a critical pillar of its economy, representing nearly a fifth of output and eclipsing the country's famous car sector, according to the ZIA industry association. After years of boom, real estate ground to a halt in 2022 when the European Central Bank swiftly hiked interest rates to stamp out the worst bout of inflation in decades. The industry, which had been firing on all cylinders, was ill-prepared. Construction projects halted, workers lost their jobs, building sales collapsed and property developers went insolvent. The most spectacular collapse was the property and retail giant Signa, with its big footprint in Germany. It resulted in the sale of Germany's most famous department store, KaDeWe in Berlin, and the halt in the construction of a skyscraper in Hamburg. "The higher cost of borrowing is here to stay," said Andreas Naujoks, a real estate lawyer with Noerr. "While big companies may get through, smaller companies will struggle." ($1 = 0.9167 euros) (Reporting By John O'Donnell; Editing by Alexandra Hudson) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Drug combination nearly erases liver cancer in major breakthrough
A new drug combination led by a professor from a cancer research institute in Glasgow has been found to almost completely eradicate the most common type of liver cancer. The discovery by Cancer Research UK-funded scientists in Scotland offers hope to patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, a particularly hard-to-treat cancer. The study, led by Professor Tom Bird of the University of Edinburgh and the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute in Glasgow, focused on genetic alterations that can cause liver cancer. The research, published in Nature on February 19, used these specific areas of genetic malfunction to create "genetic avatars" in mice, which were then targeted with various treatments. John O'Donnell (Image: John O'Donnell) The team found that cladribine, an existing cancer drug used to treat leukaemia and multiple sclerosis, was effective at targeting hepatocellular carcinoma tumours. Cladribine, which belongs to a group of drugs called antimetabolites, interferes with DNA synthesis and halts the growth of cancer cells. The study found that cladribine significantly reduced the number of tumours, but was most effective when combined with another drug, lenvatinib, resulting in the near-eradication of all tumours. Professor Bird, the lead author on the study, said: "This exciting discovery provides new hope for the thousands of people living every day with a liver cancer diagnosis. "Finding new and effective ways to combine and use treatments already approved for other cancers may be a faster way to achieve successful outcomes for future patients." The next step is to run a clinical trial over several years to confirm the long-term results in liver cancer patients. Dr Sam Godfrey, science engagement lead at Cancer Research UK, said: "We are delighted to have funded this exciting research which could lead to new treatments and improved outcomes for patients with liver cancer. "Liver cancer is a difficult cancer problem – it's the fastest rising cause of cancer death in the UK and it can be hard to diagnose it at an early stage when treatment can be more effective. "That's why research like this is so important – it lays the foundations for improved cancer treatment, driving us towards a time when no one fears cancer.' John O'Donnell, a 75-year-old from Glasgow, welcomed the new research. He was diagnosed with liver cancer two and a half years ago and was accepted onto a clinical trial for people with advanced liver cancer. After a few months on a new immunotherapy drug combination, his tumour had reduced by 35 per cent. Mr O'Donnell said: 'It was hard at times but I'm absolutely delighted with the result and I'm proud that I was able to contribute in a small way to helping find new ways to tackle liver cancer. 'There are lots of exciting things happening in cancer research and I hear about it every time I am in for a check-up. 'I've been told that if the treatment I'm on stops working there are other options so I'm delighted to hear of new developments like this.'
